"Stay Connected to the Vine”

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25 

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, more than likely you’ve heard about or read these verses.  They are familiar to you, right?  They are a checklist of qualities that we all must work very hard to get right in order be more acceptable in the sight of God, right?  WRONG!! 

These qualities are gifts from the Holy Spirit that we already possess because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us.  These fruit of the Spirit manifest in the life of every believer as we become more and more spiritually mature, and we allow the Spirit to work in our heart.  Every believer will be at a different level of spiritual maturity, but we should never stop growing!   

But how?   

Great question!!!  Spiritual growth begins with our connection to the vine—the True Vine.  Jesus said in John 15, “I am the true vine.”  He goes on to say, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:4-5). 

The level of our maturity and the quality of our fruit are directly connected to how closely we are connected to Jesus.  If our connection to Jesus is weak, our maturity and fruit will reflect that.  If our connection to Jesus is strong, our maturity and fruit will reflect that.  That’s just how it goes! 

There will be days when we may feel that the fruit of the Spirit are barely visible in our lives. Don’t cave to your feelings—KEEP PRESSING IN and STAY CONNECTED TO THE VINE!  Galatians 5:25 reminds us that we have been crucified with Christ!  Our old sinful nature has been put to death, we have been made new!  We don’t owe our flesh anything and through the Holy Spirit, we have victory to overcome.  

Prayer:  God, we thank you that you are the Vinedresser and Jesus is the True Vine.  Help us to stay connected to you by your Holy Spirit and to never stop growing.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen